NATO must be ready for war in the next four years, Germany’s defence chief warned, as he claimed Russia is gearing up to attack more European nations.
Keir Starmer meanwhile announced 12 new nuclear submarines to combat the “immediate and pressing threat” from Putin.
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General Carsten Breuer said Nato is facing a “very serious threat” from Russia – the most severe he has seen in his 40 years of service.
Breuer explained that Russia is producing weaponry at a rapid pace – with around 1,500 battle tanks and four million rounds of artillery each year.
Crucially, not all of this is being directed to Ukraine – possibly indicating munitions are being stockpiled for use against Nato countries.
He said: “There’s an intent and there’s a build up of the stocks.”
Breuer doubled down on his warning that “analysts are assessing 2029” as Russia‘s potential timeframe for an assault, concluding: “We have to be ready by 2029”.
“If you ask me now, is this a guarantee that’s not earlier than 2029? I would say no, it’s not. So we must be able to fight tonight,” he said.
In April, the general warned that Putin will have amassed a 3million-strong army by next year, and that he wants to “weaken and destroy Nato as an alliance and discredit our Western form of society”.
The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are particularly vulnerable, according to the defence expert.
Breuer said: “The Baltic States are really exposed to the Russians, right?
“And once you are there, you really feel this […] in the talks we are having over there.”
The Estonians use the analogy of being close to a wildfire and being able to “feel the heat, see the flames and smell the smoke”.
Germany and other European nations “probably see a little bit of smoke over the horizon and not more,” Breuer said.
The general added a call to action, urging fellow Nato nations to rebuild their militaries.
He said: “What we have to do now is really to lean in an to tell everybody: ‘Hey, ramp up […] get more into it because we need it.
“We need it to be able to defend ourselves and therefore also to build up deterrence.”
Recognising this need, the British government announced that the UK will build a dozen new nuclear submarines armed with Tomohawk missiles.
The UK’s nuclear warhead programme will also be bolstered, with Defence Secretary John Healey saying the deterrent is “what Putin fears most”.
The government is in talks with US officials over the move, which would be the UK’s biggest deterrent development since the Cold War.
The news came as part of the strategic defence review, designed to get Britain moving “to war-fighting readiness”.
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Starmer will say during a trip to Scotland: “From the supply lines to the front lines, this government is four-square behind the men and women upholding our freedom and security.”
Up to 12 nuclear-powered subs will be built under the AUKUS security partnership with the US and Australia.
They are conventionally-armed with Tomahawk missiles and are mainly used as intelligence gatherers, lurking off hostile coastlines to intercept communications.
They can also deploy special forces and drones.
Russia’s weapon stocks took a hit over the weekend when a daring Ukrainian drone plot blitzed 34 percent of Putin’s cruise missile carriers, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
And a raging Putin is now said to be preparing for a terrifying revenge attack.
What was ‘Operation Spiderweb’?
OVER the weekend, Ukraine launched a highly-sophisticated, meticulously-planned drone attack inside Russia.
It marks Kyiv’s longest-range operation of the conflict so far.
The plot involved 117 drones which had been smuggled into Russia inside trucks.
President Zelensky revealed it took over 18 months to pull off the masterful attack and hailed it as one for the “history books”.
Over 100 drones were involved, each with their own pilot.
Zelesnsky also revealed the headquarters of the operation were “right next to the FSB”, Russia’s security service.
At least 40 aircraft were attacked, and Zelensky claimed that 34 percent of Putin’s cruise missile carriers at the targeted airfields were blasted.
A £260million AWACS aircraft and bombers capable of dropping nuclear weapons were also struck.
Kyiv is claiming to have inflicted around $7billion worth of damage against the Russian air force.